The calculator
Converting $50,000 a year from age 45, the first conversion becomes available without penalty at 50. Until then you need $250,000 from taxable savings, cash or Roth contributions. The conversions add about $26,700 of federal and state tax in total.
Year-by-year ladder
| Year | Age | Convert | Tax | Available from 5 years ago | From bridge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 45 | $50,000 | $1,780 | $0 | $50,000 |
| 2027 | 46 | $50,000 | $1,780 | $0 | $50,000 |
| 2028 | 47 | $50,000 | $1,780 | $0 | $50,000 |
| 2029 | 48 | $50,000 | $1,780 | $0 | $50,000 |
| 2030 | 49 | $50,000 | $1,780 | $0 | $50,000 |
| 2031 | 50 | $50,000 | $1,780 | $50,000 | $0 |
| 2032 | 51 | $50,000 | $1,780 | $50,000 | $0 |
| 2033 | 52 | $50,000 | $1,780 | $50,000 | $0 |
| 2034 | 53 | $50,000 | $1,780 | $50,000 | $0 |
| 2035 | 54 | $50,000 | $1,780 | $50,000 | $0 |
| 2036 | 55 | $50,000 | $1,780 | $50,000 | $0 |
| 2037 | 56 | $50,000 | $1,780 | $50,000 | $0 |
| 2038 | 57 | $50,000 | $1,780 | $50,000 | $0 |
| 2039 | 58 | $50,000 | $1,780 | $50,000 | $0 |
| 2040 | 59 | $50,000 | $1,780 | $50,000 | $0 |
How a Roth conversion ladder works
Withdrawals from a traditional IRA before 59½ usually carry a 10% penalty. A conversion to a Roth IRA is taxed as income but not penalized, and each conversion can be withdrawn without the penalty once five tax years have passed, counting from January 1 of the year you converted. So if you convert every year starting the year you retire, from the sixth year on there is a matured rung to spend each year, until 59½ ends the penalty anyway.
Roth withdrawals come out in a fixed order: your own contributions first (always penalty-free), then conversions, oldest first, then earnings. Earnings stay locked until 59½ and the account’s own five-year mark.
The five-year bridge
The first rung takes five years to mature, so the early years need money from somewhere else: a taxable brokerage account, cash, Roth IRA contributions, or a 457(b), which has no early withdrawal penalty. The calculator adds up that bridge from the spending you enter.
Keeping each rung’s tax low
With no other income, a conversion up to the standard deduction ($16,100 single, $32,200 joint in 2026) pays no federal income tax, and the next band is taxed at 10% and 12%. Qualified dividends and gains from a taxable bridge account stack on top. Before 65, conversions also raise the income that sets an ACA premium tax credit, which can cost more than the tax itself.
Other ways to reach early money
- Rule of 55: penalty-free 401(k) withdrawals if you leave your employer in or after the year you turn 55.
- 72(t) payments: a fixed series of withdrawals from an IRA at any age, which must continue for five years or until 59½.
- Taxable accounts and cash, which have no penalty at all.
Assumptions and sources
Conversions are equal each year until age 59; tax is figured on 2026 law and dollars for every year, with your other income held level. One 2026 return under current law, with the standard deduction, no alternative minimum tax and no local tax. The same tax engine runs inside Killion’s planner when you turn tax on in a paid plan. Estimates for planning, not tax advice.
Figures checked on against IRS Publication 590-B (2025), Distributions from IRAs and IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, 2026 inflation adjustments (PDF).
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<p><a href="https://killionlabs.com/calculators/roth-conversion-ladder/">Roth conversion ladder calculator</a> by Killion Labs</p>